Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1887-11-05
LEATHER FROM HUMAN SKIN.
A Flourishing Tannery Where 1t Is Pre-
narcd for the Shoemaker.

A Flourishing Tannory Where 1t Is Pre-
pared FOR the Shoemaker.
remember that two or three years ago
incidentally referred to a proment ply
stefan of this city wearing shoes made
from the skin of negroes. He still adj
heres to that custom, insisting that the
tanned hide of an African makes the most
enduring and the most pliable leather
known to man.
Only last week / met him upon the
street with brand new pair of shoes. |
looked Mt his foot wear, as l always do
his pedal coverings have an irresistible
fascination for me--and said, with n smile:
lis the down trodden African still be-
heath your feetsn In the most matter of
fact way, and without the shadow Of a
smile, he answered.: 81 suppose you mean
to inquire if | still wear shoes made of
the skin of negro. l certainly do, and
don't propose changing in that respect
until l find leather that is softer
and will last longer and present a
better appearance. | have no senti-
ment about this matter. Were l u
southerner-in the American sense Of
that world might be accused Of being
actuated by race prejudice But am
foreigner by birth, although now an
CkblLcn bA
fought in the rebellion that the blacks
might be freed. l would use white
mans skin for the same purpose if it
were sufficiently thick, and if any one has
desire to wear my epiderInis upon his
feet after 1 have drawn my last breath hi
has my ante mortem permission
The doctors shoes always exhibit n
peculiarly rich lustrousness in their black
ness. He assures me that they never hut
his feet. The new pair he was using
when last saw him emitted no creaking
sound and appeared as comfortable as
though they had been worn a month.
Their predecessors, he told me, had been
in constant use for eight months. He
obtains the skin from the bodies of
negroes which have been dissected in one
of our big medical colleges. The best
leather is obtained from the thighs. The
soles are formed by placing several layers
of leather together. The shoes are fash
toned by a French shoemaker of this city,
who knows nothing of the true character
of the leather, but who often wonders at
its exquisite smoothness and says that it
eXcels the finest French calfsBin.
Do not for moment think that this
doctor presents an exceptional case of one
who puts the human skin to practical
use. Medical students frequently display
u great variety of articles in which the
skin or bones of some dissected mortal
has been grewsornely utilized and in bursts
of generosity they sometimes present these
to their friends, who prize them highly.
One of the dudest dudes in town carries
match safe covered with portion of the
skin of beautiful young woman who was
found drowned in the Delaware river. 1t
still retains its natural color. Another
young man with whom / am acquainted
carries cigar case made of negro skin, II
CHASTITY skull and cross bones appearing
on one side in relief One of the best
known surgeons in this country, who re-
sides in this city, has beautiful instru
ment case entirely covered with leather
made from an Africans skin. A young
society lady of this city wears a beautiful
pair of dark slippers, the remarkable
lustrousness of whose leather invariably
eXcites the admiration of her friends
when they see them. The young doctor
who presented them to her recently re-
turned from an extended foreign tour,
and he told her that he had purchased
them from a Turk in Alexandria and that
he did not know what sort of leather they
were made of, but he supposed it was the
skin of some wild animal. As a matter
of fact, the skin came from o negro ca
daver which once was prone on q Jeffer-
son college dissecting table. The rosettes
on the slippers were deity fashioned FROM
the negroes kinky hair.-Philadelph